This invention relates to the field of athletic shoe manufacture. More specifically, it relates to an improved assembly for providing spiked soles on athletic shoes, particularly on shoes designed for golfers.
It has long been understood that it is desirable to provide stability to the wearer of athletic shoes designed for use in golf. Because the motion of the player in execution of drives in the course of this game results in instability of footing, footwear has been provided which has a means to secure the player to the ground during this maneuver. Ordinarily, this is accomplished by providing, in the soles of shoes designed for golfers, a pattern of metal spikes which become embedded in the turf, and thus provide the player with a firm footing.
Traditionally, the spikes are secured to a rubber or synthetic shoe sole by means of a flat metal plate bearing a series of pronged fasteners around its periphery, and a tubular threaded female connector protruding from its center toward the bottom of the shoe. The spike itself is contiguous with a threaded male connector, and is provided with a metal flange containing two holes which permit insertion of a two-pronged key. The two-pronged key, then, is used to turn the flange containing the spike and male connector so as to secure the spike assembly to the receptacle assembly.
Because of the required number of spikes, the metal flange portions add considerable weight to the shoe. Therefore, improvements have been made in the spike assembly by using only a metal frame contiguous with the connector and spike, and embedding the metal frame into a plastic or nylon flange. In this version of the spike assembly, the lighter weight of the plastic or nylon results in a lighter shoe. One design of this modification utilizes a plastic thread on the male connector, as well, but this has proved clearly unsatisfactory due to inadequate strength. Another design provides a metal male screw thread, and stabilizes the spike assembly by a series of three fan blade projections from the connector/spike. This design provides two keyholes for tightening the spike onto the receptacle, thus requiring large arc motions in tightening it down.
None of the foregoing designs is completely satisfactory. The pronged receptacle relies on securing means which, because they bear directly against the surrounding material, often cause tearing and weakening of the soles and become loose. The metal flanged spike is unduly heavy; the plastic threaded connector, because of the weakness of the material, tends to strip; the tri-bladed assembly has an uneven weight distribution with respect to the two keyholes provided to secure the spike. The present invention overcomes these deficiencies.